Matchup:
No. 3 Rollins (25-6) vs. No. 2 Tampa (23-6)
NCAA Division II South Region Semifinal
When:
Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 5 p.m.
Where:
The Arena at the Don Taft University Center - Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla.
Rollins got past Saint Leo in the NCAA South Region Tournament
first round and now meets another conference rival, facing Tampa on
Saturday, March 15 at 5 p.m. The second-seed Spartans thumped West
Florida in its opener Friday afternoon, 77-62 while the third-seed
Tars took care of Leo 56-48. Rollins and UT split in the regular
season with each winning on the other's home court. Fans can catch
all the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com
and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK - live video is available at
NSUSharks.com
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars continue to prove
that defense wins, keeping high-scoring Saint Leo in check and
posting a 56-48 win Friday. Sarah
Taylor led the Tars with 13 points and five rebounds while Sarah
Blackburn turned in her ninth double-double of the year with 11
points and 13 rebounds. Ashley
Losch added six points and a career-high 15 rebounds. The Tars
dominated the glass, outrebounding the Lions 59-46.
Taylor continues to lead the Rollins offense with 13.2 points a
game. The junior is hitting 40 percent from the field and 77
percent at the stripe, while also pulling down 6.6 rebounds a game.
Blackburn averages 11 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds an
outing. Emmalee
Schill also scores in double-figures, netting 10.8 a game, and
gathers six boards a night. The junior is now alone in seventh
place on the Tars all-time blocks list with 95 career swats.
Rollins is averaging 65.8 points of offense a game and holds
teams to just 58 a game.
Glenn Wilkes
Jr. (Stetson '81) is in his 28th year leading the Tars and owns
a career record of 628-204. Between Wilkes and assistant coaches Eddie
Cole and Tami
Stark, Rollins has more than 1,500 combined victories and 68
years of experience on the bench.
TAMPA AT A GLANCE: The Spartans closed the
regular season on a 13-game winning streak and captured the
Sunshine State Conference regular season title. They lost to Nova
Southeastern in the SSC Tournament championship game and are the
two-seed in the NCAA Tourney.
UT beat Gulf South Conference Tournament champion West Florida
77-62 in its first round match-up on Friday. Shamika Williams put
up 24 points to lead Tampa while Juliana Cavallaro added 17. Taylor
McVey filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 13 rebounds and five
blocks. The Spartans led by as many as 26 with six minutes to
play.
Ellen Nurmi leads the Spartans on the season, putting up 11.6
points a game. Juliana Cavallro is getting 10.7 points a night
while Illyssa Vivo averages 10.6 points, five rebounds and 3.3
assists a night. Taylor McVey is the team's top rebounder with 7.2
boards a game.
Tampa is the only team in the SSC ahead of the Tars in scoring
defense, allowing only 57 points a game. On the other end of the
court, UT is getting nearly 70 points an outing.
Spartans' head coach Tom Jessee is in his 12th season leading UT
and is the winningest coach in program history with a record of
245-114. He has led the Spartans to 10 tournament appearances,
advancing UT to the regional title game three times.
THE SERIES: Rollins lead the all-time series
52-36, including a split in the regular season. They first met on
Jan. 4, 2014 in Tampa with the Tars holding on for a 59-58 victory.
Emmalee
Schill led Rollins with 15 points and eight rebounds while Tanaya
Jones recorded 13 points and five assists. Shamika Williams
paced UT with 16 points off the bench. A month later Rollins and UT
faced off in Winter Park with Tampa winning 78-57. The Tars trailed
41-28 after the first half and couldn't catch-up in the second. Jen
Farrell put up 16 points to lead Rollins while Sarah
Taylor netted 11. Juliana Cavallaro scored 19 for the Spartans
while Shamika Williams totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds.
TARS TOURNAMENT NOTES: Rollins is in its
14th appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament and
is 10-13 all-time. This season marks the second time the Tars are
the No. 3 seed in the South Region and are 2-1 with that draw. In
2000, the Tars beat Fort Valley (79-69) and Arkansas Tech (67-54)
before falling to Delta State 74-44 in the region title game as the
three seed.
The Tars are 0-1 against top-seed NSU in postseason play,
falling 73-57 in 2013. The two schools played three times this year
with the Sharks taking two. Rollins split with second-seed Tampa
this season and are 53-35 all-time against the Spartans. They have
never faced in NCAA tournament play. Rollins has played Delta State
three previous times with the Lady Statesmen owning a 2-1 edge in
the series. They last met in the 2012 South Region Semifinals with
the Tars winning 69-59. The Tars are 10-3 all-time against
fifth-seed Albany State, including a 53-34 win earlier this year.
The two met in postseason play in 1996 with the Lady Rams winning
63-62. Rollins and seventh-seed West Florida have played twice with
Rollins winning both, 60-52 on Dec. 1, 2003 and by a 60-40 score on
Nov. 17, 1995. The Tars have only faced Benedict one other time, a
51-42 Rollins victory in the first round of the 2004 NCAA
Tournament.
NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: The winner of Rollins and
Tampa will play for the South Region title on Monday, March 17 at 7
p.m.
